Body Burn and Get Fit Daily Dozen

Body Burn and Get Fit Daily Dozen

I might be biased, but I feel like as far as beginner to intermediate workout DVDs go, you cannot go wrong with Denise Austin. With so many years of experience, her cuing is impeccable and her videos always pack a lot in. Her two most recent releases, Body Burn with Pilates and Dance and Get Fit Daily Dozen, are both quality investments.

These DVDs reminded me of why I love to review the crazy DVDs out there. When a DVD is solid — the instructor isn't overly annoying, the back-up dancers act like normal people, and no one is stomping their feet

throwing tantrums— it makes my job slightly harder because there is just nothing to pick at. But I suppose we all need balance in our life, and these definitely balance out some of the lackluster videos out there.

Here a two-for-one review treat, along with an opportunity to win! Body BurnBody Burn is split into three workout segments: a cardio dance segment, a standing Pilates segment and mat Pilates. Denise and her dance team start out with a basic warm-up, with side to side lunges, hip rolls and leg kicks before getting into the first dance combo. The several different dance combos are all basic, fun and easy to learn. You repeat the moves enough so that you know them really well, but not so much that you get bored. Denise leads you through a runway-style walk that's really fun, as well as my fave 80s-tastic hair-washing move.

There’s a lot of variety of moves, and she even manages to fit in some dance squats. Sneakiness. Plus, I like that you can make moves more challenging by jumping higher or moving farther. A short dance-inspired cool down brought the cardio segment to 30 minutes, the perfect length, in my humble opinion. Both of the Pilates segments were 10 minutes long and focused on toning different areas of the bod. The standing Pilates segment uses some light weights to work the biceps, triceps and back, incorporating balance work as well.

I was pleasantly surprised by two sets of three real on-the-toes push-ups , and combo squat and arm-lift moves followed by standing oblique work were a nice addition. The mat Pilates portion focuses more on the core and abs, with moves such as the staple Pilates hundred, single-leg stretches, scissor and bicycle moves for the waistline. The inner and outer thigh get some treatment with leg lifts, and the T-stands were one of the more challenging moves of the segment.